Recipe #9.2: Grilled Pork Tenderloin.

HAPPY EASTER!

For this year's Easter Feast I deferred to my wife, who doesn't like ham.  A 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin marinaded in apple juice and honey.  Indirect grilling for 45 minutes or so until the internal temp is 150F. Let it sit under a tinfoil tent for 5 minutes after grilling.
We also grilled potatoes:  Whole red potatoes sprayed with olive oil and wrapped in tinfoil.  I use small red potatoes because they grill quickly, but you don't need to worry too much about OVER cooking.  The real danger is UNDERCOOKING.  That's why I prefer the smaller ones.
We also had CORN ON THE COB.  Weird to have that in APRIL.    You soak the ears in cold water for 30 minutes or more IN THE HUSK.  Cut off the top tassels with a scissors and place them on the grill over direct heat for 30 minutes or more IN THE HUSKS.  The water in the husks cooks the corn, but no flavor escapes as it does when the corn is husked and boiled (YUK!).  Grilled corn on the cob is AL DENTE and SOOOOO flavorful!
It was a great Easter Feast!!

Recipe #7.2 & 8.2: Grilled Salmon-Rosemary Patties and Grilled Garlic Artichokes.

                                                                             Already up to recipe #8 and it's only April 2nd!

A lenten treat  . . . sort of.  Basically you take 2 lbs of fresh salmon, shredded, or 2 cans of Alaskan Sockeye Salmon and mix with red onion, dry bread crumbs, dijon mustard, horseradish, and a couple of eggs.  Form them into patties and grill.

The artichokes were simple.  Boil them for 15 minutes, the marinade in a mixture of olive oil, lemon, garlic and seasoning.  Grill 10 minutes turning and basting often.  Mix equal parts of mustard and mayo for a dip.

I can't say I liked either thing very much.  My sweetie did, but she likes everything!  I mean that in a good way.

Recipes #4.2-6.2: Stuffed pork chops, and two sides!

I made a whole meal from this year's book, all of it grilled together:

1. Pork chops stuffed with bacon and smoked gouda
2. Grilled potatoes and onions
3. sesame asparagus

First, thinly slice two medium potatoes and half an onion per diner.  Spray a square of tinfoil with PAM.  Put the potatoes and onion on the tinfoil then spray another piece of tinfoil and put it on top.  Fold up the edges to make a packet.  Grill 30 minutes indirect, turning once halfway through.

Next you get THICK bone-in pork chops:  2-2 1/2 inches thick.  With a sharp knife make a pocket all the way to the bone -- like a piece of pita bread.  Then you mix up some shredded smoked gouda, some crumbled up bacon, some chopped green onion, and some cilantro.  Stuff that in the pocket and seal it shut with toothpicks.  Grill it over hot coals for about 8-9 minutes per side.

Finally, 4-5 spears of fresh asparagus per diner.  Mix up some sesame oil, some soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic (My one rule of cooking: "There's no such thing as too much garlic.")  Put the soy-sesame stuff and the asparagus in a big ziplock bag and turn it over and over to make sure they are all well coated.  Then grill the asparagus with the pork chops, turn it all at the same time.

MY GOSH IT WAS GOOD!  So far we have liked EVERYTHING in this book!

Recipe #3.2: Seattle Cream Cheese Dogs

Simple and VERY tasty.  To enjoy this properly, put your personal preferences aside.  I did. A few FIRM requirements:

1)  Cream cheese.  Slowly warmed in a  sauce pan over low, low heat.
2)  Bakery buns, NOT WONDERBREAD BUNS!
3)  Brown Mustard - not yellow mustard and NOT KETCHUP.
4)  REAL meat hot dogs NOT PINK SLIME DOGS!
5) Sauerkraut!

Grill the dogs, warm the cream cheese, toast the buns.  Put some warm cream cheese on the toasted bun, place the hot wiener on it, dribble some brown mustard on the dog, and finally top it all with sauerkraut.  Close and bite.

We got our dogs at a real German meat market.  We used whole wheat bakery buns and as a side, we had whole grain SUN CHIPS.  It was a great summery lunch for a lovely March Saturday!

Cajun Chicken. OUTSTANDING!

Second recipe from the new book!  IT WAS GREAT!  Looks like I am going to be a lot more positive in my reviews this years!  It's simple and excellent.  Cup of vegetable oil, teaspoon each of cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper and garlic.  place three chicken breast in it. Cover and refrigerate for JUST 30 minutes!!!  I took those 30 minutes to get the grill warmed up.  8 minutes to a side and was it great!  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Recipe #1 (year II) Grilled sausage with potatoes and green beans

March 4, 2012 was unseasonably beautiful and just right for beginning a journey through a new book.  This year it's a KINDLE book from the allrecipes.com 100 Best Recipes series.  This one is "Grilling and BBQ."

We started simply:  a ring of smoked sausage, three large red potatoes, a large onion, and 3/4 pounds of fresh string beans (AKA "green beans" no easy task to find THOSE in Minnesota in March).  Everything is cut to 1" chunks, seasoned and wrapped tightly in tinfoil.  Three pats of butter and 1/3 cup of water and seal up the bag.  30 minutes over the coals, turning once. That's it.   IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!!

I think this year will be a LOT more positive than last year!  What more can I say?

To put a cherry on this perfect day, I rode my bike out on the highways for about 40 minutes.  A bit windy, but great fun!

First Grilling Adventure of 2012

Just brats, boiled on the stove in Miller Golden Draft beer for 30 minutes, then browned on the grill for 3 minutes per side.  I also toasted the buns.  YUM1  A taste of summer on a gray February Day.  BOY!  It sure is great to grill in the new place!  My grill is five paces from the kitchen instead of downstairs and across the parking lot!